FDA Oncology Approvals Based on ORR with Duration of Response Under 6 Months
By Rhizome Team
Overall Response Rate (ORR) has been widely used as an accelerated approval endpoint for oncology drugs, but the durability of that response is a critical factor in assessing meaningful clinical benefit. When the median duration of response (DoR) falls below 6 months, questions arise about whether the treatment provides lasting value to patients.
Examining recent FDA approvals and indication extensions where oncology drugs were evaluated using ORR as a key endpoint, with a focus on cases where the duration of response was less than 6 months, provides important context for understanding evolving regulatory expectations around response durability in oncology.
This analysis reviews new drug approvals and extensions of indications in oncology over the past 5 years in the United States where ORR served as a primary or key secondary endpoint and the observed duration of response was under 6 months.
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in the us in the past 5 years, what new drugs approvals and extensions of indications in oncology drugs have been approved based on the endpoint ORR (overall response rate) with a duration of response less than 6 months
Answer
Scope, timeframe, and how this was counted (as of 2026-03-04)
The request was interpreted as: U.S. FDA oncology regulatory actions in the past 5 years (i.e., roughly 2021–2026), limited to (a) original/new oncology approvals and (b) supplemental approvals/label expansions, where the FDA action was based on ORR (overall response rate) and the median duration of response (DoR) reported for the pivotal efficacy population was < 6 months.
Using the provided extracted FDA/label/review data, I counted only cases where:
- The regulatory action type is original/new approval or supplemental approval (label expansion) (not “unclear” unless the action is still clearly an FDA approval action in the dataset), and
- The approval is explicitly ORR-based (commonly Accelerated Approval language, but ORR-based actions can also occur in other contexts), and
- The median DoR is explicitly reported as a numeric value < 6 months for the primary efficacy population supporting that action.
- If median DoR was NR/NE/not reached/not estimable, it was not counted as <6 months.
- If only a subgroup (e.g., PR-only responders) had median DoR <6 months but the overall pivotal responder population did not, it was not counted.
FDA oncology approvals/label expansions (2021–2026) that meet the criteria (ORR-based; median DoR <6 months)
TRUSELTIQ (infigratinib phosphate) — original/new approval; Accelerated Approval
- Regulatory action: original/new approval; accelerated approval 1129511218
- Indication (oncology): adults with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with an FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement 11293033
- ORR (pivotal): 23.1% (95% CI: 15.6, 32.2) by blinded independent central review (BICR) per RECIST v1.1 in Study 2204 (Cohort 1, n=108) 237111281126
- Median DoR: 5.03 months (<6 months: yes) 23711128155
- Why it qualifies: This is a clear example of an ORR/DOR-based oncology approval where the median DoR is explicitly <6 months in the pivotal cohort.
ZEPZELCA (lurbinectedin) — original approval; Accelerated Approval
- Regulatory action: original approval; accelerated approval 157
- ORR (pivotal): investigator-assessed ORR 35% (95% CI 26%, 45) 126 and IRC-assessed ORR 30.5% (95% CI 22%, 40) per RECIST v1.1 635
- Median DoR: 5.3 months (investigator) and 5.1 months (IRC) (<6 months: yes) 15802358863
- Why it qualifies: The pivotal efficacy summaries explicitly report median DoR <6 months alongside ORR, consistent with an ORR/DOR-based accelerated approval package 157.
XPOVIO (selinexor) — original approval; Accelerated Approval
- Regulatory action: original approval; accelerated approval 116224222
- Indication (oncology): relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in combination with dexamethasone after ≥4 prior therapies (triple-class refractory) 113714161413
- ORR (pivotal STORM Part 2): 25.4% (95% CI 18.0%, 34.1%), assessed by IRC per IMWG 2016 7214101413
- Median DoR: 4.4 months (<6 months: yes) 114101409141321521415
- Why it qualifies: This is an ORR-based accelerated approval in hematologic oncology with a median DoR clearly <6 months in the pivotal cohort.
MEKINIST (trametinib) — supplemental approval; Accelerated Approval (solid tumors with BRAF V600E)
- Regulatory action: supplemental approval; accelerated approval 1431438
- Indication (oncology): in combination with dabrafenib for adult and pediatric patients ≥6 years with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with BRAF V600E mutation who progressed after prior treatment and have no satisfactory alternatives; approved under accelerated approval based on ORR and DoR 4311315
- ORR (pivotal METRIC trial): investigator-assessed ORR 22% (95% CI 17%, 28%), assessed per RECIST v1.1 219622022197 (IRC/independent review ORR also reported) 22002202
- Median DoR: 5.5 months (95% CI 4.1, 5.9) (<6 months: yes) 28832881219721982882
- Why it qualifies: The supplemental accelerated approval is explicitly tied to ORR/DoR, and the median DoR is reported as 5.5 months in the cited efficacy results 431131528832881219721982882.
KRAZATI (adagrasib + cetuximab regimen in cited pivotal pooled analysis) — supplemental approval; pathway unclear in excerpts; ORR-based with median DoR <6 months
- Regulatory action: supplemental approval; approval pathway unclear in the provided excerpts 494492493
- Indication (oncology): KRAS G12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC after ≥1 prior systemic therapy 1174817471746
- ORR (pivotal pooled adagrasib+cetuximab): 34.0% (95% CI 24.6–44.5) by BICR per RECIST v1.1 2524
- Median DoR: 5.8 months (<6 months: yes) 25242522495
- Why it qualifies (with a caveat): The dataset contains a supplemental action with BICR ORR and median DoR 5.8 months 25242522495, but the excerpts do not clearly label the action as Accelerated Approval vs regular approval 493492. It still meets your endpoint/DoR filter.
What did not qualify (common reasons)
Median DoR not reached / not estimable
Many ORR-based oncology accelerated approvals report median DoR as NR/NE at the time of approval; these were not counted as “<6 months” by your criterion. Examples include:
- KEYTRUDA MSI‑H/dMMR solid tumors: median DoR not reached 2163287228712873287428772876
- JEMPERLI dMMR endometrial cancer: median DoR not reached 2107290329052904
- Multiple cell therapies and other accelerated approvals with NR/NE medians (e.g., KYMRIAH, LUNSUMIO, etc.) where the median was not reached in the pivotal responder set 13481449118825862587.
Subgroup-only DoR <6 months (overall pivotal median not <6)
Some products show <6 months median DoR in a subgroup (e.g., PR-only responders), but the overall pivotal responder population median DoR is ≥6 months or NR/NE; these were excluded. For example:
- YESCARTA: PR-responder subgroup median DoR 2.1 months, but overall pivotal median DoR 9.2 months 27462747.
Median DoR equals 6.0 months (not “less than” 6)
If the median DoR is exactly 6.0 months, it does not meet “<6 months.” Example:
Bottom line (from the provided dataset)
Within the dataset of U.S. FDA oncology actions from ~2021 onward, the approvals/label expansions that clearly match ORR-based decision-making with median DoR < 6 months in the pivotal efficacy population are:
- TRUSELTIQ (infigratinib) — original; accelerated approval; median DoR 5.03 months 23711128155
- ZEPZELCA (lurbinectedin) — original; accelerated approval; median DoR 5.1–5.3 months 15802358863
- XPOVIO (selinexor) — original; accelerated approval; median DoR 4.4 months 114101409141321521415
- MEKINIST (trametinib) — supplemental; accelerated approval; median DoR 5.5 months 143143828832881219721982882
- KRAZATI (adagrasib+cetuximab pooled pivotal analysis in excerpts) — supplemental; pathway unclear; median DoR 5.8 months 25242522495
Implications for interpretation
A median DoR <6 months in an ORR-based approval package generally indicates that while a measurable tumor shrinkage signal exists, durability is limited in the studied population—often reflecting heavily pretreated disease, aggressive biology, or resistance mechanisms. In the FDA context, these profiles frequently align with Accelerated Approval frameworks where confirmatory evidence is expected to verify clinical benefit, though the dataset also includes at least one case where the approval pathway is not explicit in the excerpts despite ORR/DoR being central to the evidence package 493492.
If you want, I can also (a) restrict strictly to actions explicitly labeled Accelerated Approval (which would exclude the “pathway unclear” case), or (b) expand to include oncology actions where DoR distributions (e.g., % with DoR ≥6 months) suggest short durability even when the median is NR/NE (but that would not match your “median DoR <6 months” requirement).